earticle

영어

The primary result of the Reformation was the splitting of Christendom into Catholicism and Protestantism. At the vortex of the Reformation we can find Erasmus' efforts to reunify the church.
At the beginning of Luther's Reformation, Erasmus, as a reformer of the Church, supported Luther. However, as Luther grew more radical, he and Erasmus became estranged. Erasmus thought that Luther's uncompromising actions were destroying the unity of Christendom. For Erasmus, Luther's victory would mean the end of Christian unity and peace.
In spite of his break with Luther, Erasmus, who was devoted to a peaceful and unified Church, did his best as a mediator between Catholic and Protestant elements, but was rebuked by both sides. Above all, Erasmus' search for a way to heal the split centered on his view of the Church as the Body of Christ. Quoting the Pauline passages on the body of Christ, Erasmus demonstrates his resolute belief in the unity of the church as a harmonious organism under Christ, with Christ as its leader, not the Pope.
Nevertheless, Erasmus emphasizes that the church is not a homogeneous body, for he underlined the distinct character and function of the individual member. This diversity is bound together into harmonious unity by the action of Christ, the head.
What kind of character, then, does the Church, Christ's body, have?
First, the church is a community of love. According to Erasmus, love emanates from God and eventually returns to him. The Church is an historical, social and institutional manifestation of divine love. For Erasmus, in the strictest sense there is only one office within the church, that of love. Hence the institutional aspect of church life has value and meaning for him as an expression of the inner dynamism of the Spirit and as leading towards a deepening participation in the life of charity on the part of each of its members. What binds Christians together in love is that they are all brothers in Christ.
Second, the church as the Body of Christ means a peaceful unity of Christians who love one another under the headship of Christ. Erasmus explains the peace of the Church in connection with the concepts of unity, concord, love, charity, and harmony. The highest form of peace and concord, the peace of the members of the one body, holds sway, and mutual charity makes everything the common property of all. Christians must express their love for Christ by living according to his teachings on peace. For Erasmus, peace and love are two sides of the same coin. If the Church is not ruled with Christ's peace, the name of the Church is worthless. Christ hates discord most of all.